Cruz timing might have been impeccable

AUSTIN — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's late-in-coming, half-hearted backing of Donald Trump may have looked like the epitome of bad timing when the Republican presidential nominee subsequently was peppered with accusations of sexually predatory behavior.

But the move might have saved Cruz from a messy fight in his next GOP primary, where state races long have been decided in Texas.

If he hadn't backed Trump — no matter how unsavory the nominee’s words, and the later accusations against him — Cruz would have been open to attacks from the right in his 2018 re-election bid, targeted for being disloyal to the GOP and at least indirectly helping Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Buzz started about potential Cruz challengers soon after he failed to endorse Trump at the Republican National Convention in July, even though the nominee had insulted Cruz’s wife and father. Cruz’s Facebook announcement that he’d vote for Trump finally came in late September, two weeks before a 2005 video surfaced in which Trump is heard bragging about groping women. The video was followed by accusations from multiple women that he did just that.

Cruz “looks a little foolish and certainly a little too politically calculating, but when we get to December of 2017 and candidates are filing for the GOP Senate primary, this will all have worked out well for him,” predicted Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

The political calculation helps explain why top Texas Republicans by and large haven't publicly fled Trump the way a number of national Republicans have, although there are some holdouts and some who have eased their positions.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, locked in an unusual general-election battle with Democrat Pete Gallego in which Trump has emerged as an issue, issued a statement saying he can’t support “a man who degrades women, insults minorities and has no clear path to keep our country safe.” Hurd urged Trump to step aside, but later faced criticism from some Republicans.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has refrained from endorsing Trump, pointing out last week, “I’ve had serious concerns about the nominee throughout this entire process.”

State Comptroller Glenn Hegar more than three weeks ago at the Texas Tribune Festival said he would vote for Trump. But Hegar gave a different answer when queried last week during a conversation moderated by Texas Politics Project Director James Henson at the University of Texas at Austin.

“There’s not any way whatsoever that I’m voting for Hillary Clinton,” Hegar said, but he didn’t repeat his assertion that he’d vote for Trump in the face of the latest controversy.

“Hillary Clinton’s not the role model that I want for my two daughters. But I will also say this, Donald Trump’s not the role model for my son,” Hegar said.

Other Texas officeholders are sticking with Trump, or appear to be so far.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he is supporting the nominee, citing his respect for those who voted for him.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office hasn’t responded to questions about whether he has altered his support for Trump.

After the video was released, Abbott called Trump’s rhetoric “deeply disturbing,” saying on social media, “Absent true contrition, consequences will be dire.” Abbott later posted a Biblical quote that advises being “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God deserves.”’

State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller reiterated his support for Trump Friday, saying on Facebook, “The stakes for this election are simply too high to stay at home or even worse, support someone other than our Republican nominee.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, chairman of Trump’s state campaign, appeared with him at fundraisers in San Antonio and Dallas last week. Patrick’s holding course, his consultant said Friday.

So far in Texas, it’s the safe thing to do. And Cruz, however it looks now, may be in a good position in 2018.

“Cruz in some ways has the best of both worlds now,” Jones said. “He really doesn’t need to un-endorse because he initially was so opposed to Trump, his endorsement was about as lukewarm and middling as you can get and still call it an endorsement. And now he looks vindicated. He can sit back and say, ‘Look, I fell on my sword for the party, but hey, y’all know I was right back in July.’”

Peggy Fikac is Austin bureau chief and columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, delving into politics and policy in areas including the state budget, where the intersection of the two is compelling.

She covers Gov. Greg Abbott, who won the state’s top seat after a nationally noticed campaign against Wendy Davis; dug into Ted Cruz’s ascent to the U.S. Senate; covered George W. Bush as governor and during his races for president; and has bird-dogged Rick Perry’s tenure as Texas’ longest-serving governor, his White House ambitions and his indictment.

Peggy was bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle as well as the Express-News for more than five years when the two combined their Austin operations.

She previously worked for the Associated Press, where she covered the late Ann Richards during both of her campaigns for governor and specialized in public education and legislative coverage. Peggy also has been the correspondent for three Rio Grande Valley newspapers, starting as a senior at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin.